Taiwan: Elina Svitolina vs Peng Shuai
Elina Svitolina takes on Peng Shuai in the final of the Taiwan Open.
Elina Svitolina takes on Peng Shuai in the final of the Taiwan Open.
Daria Gavrilova makes her first attempt at the WTA Net Dash. Check out her personal best right here.
Elina Svitolina closed out a competitive Aussie squad while Fed Cup debutantes Natalia Vikhlyantseva and Rebecca Sramkova sealed impressive World Group II wins over Chinese Taipei and Italy, respectively.
Catch up on how Day 2 went down:
UKRAINE WINS!!! @ElinaSvitolina defeats #Gavrilova 63 62 and ?? will advance to the World Group play-offs in April! pic.twitter.com/ysCalK39Gl
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
Ukraine 3-1 Australia
Svitolina started off Day 1 with a comeback win over Ashleigh Barty, and picked up where she left off against Daria Gavrilova, taking a 6-3, 6-2 win to lead Ukraine back into World Group I Play-Offs.
Not content to leave Kharkiv empty-handed, Australia pulled off a thrilling three-set win in the doubles rubber, with former Grand Slam finalists Barty and Casey Dellacqua beating Nadiia Kichenok and Olga Savchuk, 6-2, 2-6, 10-8.
Thanks THE TEAM???!!!! @FedCup #fedcup #goukraine pic.twitter.com/unhytgkovG
— Lesia Tsurenko (@LTsurenko) February 12, 2017
Russia 3-1 Chinese Taipei
Coming into Day 2 on level terms, it was up to the experienced Ekaterina Makarova to keep her young teammates ahead in Moscow. Her opponent has had success against big-time Russians in the past, having knocked out then-World No.1 Dinara Safina back in 2009 at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was eager for another upset on Sunday.
#RUSTPE @katemakarova1 defeats Chang #KaiChen 64 75 to give Russia a 2-1 lead over Chinese Taipei! pic.twitter.com/Rc1nsh34po
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
Twice recovering from deficits against the former World No.85, Makarova edged over the finish line, 6-4, 7-5, opening the door for rising teen sensation Natalia Vikhlyantseva to clinch the tie.
Fresh off a run to the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy semifinal, Vikhlyantseva put down a decisive, 6-1, 6-2 win over Lee Ya-Hsuan.
The ?? team celebrates its victory in the #FedCup World Group II first round pic.twitter.com/1xUBxHWUCk
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
The win earned praise froum countrywoman and reigning Olympic Gold medalist Elena Vesnina, who thought the youngster handled the situation like an old pro:
Ура!!!Девчонки молодцы!???А Наташа Вихлянцева без нервов,как-будто на опыте,всегда решающие одиночки играет?Браво!#fedcup #ShowYourColours
— Elena Vesnina (@EVesnina001) February 12, 2017
Slovakia 3-2 Italy
Italy won their fourth Fed Cup title in 2013, but could be on the verge of relegation into Zonal play after a shocking loss to Slovakia.
Level after Day 1, former World No.5 Daniela Hantuchova earned her first Top 50 win since 2015 to defeat Sara Errani, 6-2, 6-0, setting the stage for a tense fourth rubber between Rebecca Sramkova and Francesca Schiavone.
#ITASVK Daniela #Hantuchova wins the first set against #Errani, taking it 62! Can she put ?? 2-1 up in the tie? pic.twitter.com/5nsOYkMQZY
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
The 2010 French Open champion declared 2017 would be her last, but couldn’t tap into that inspiration against an on-fire Sramkova, who hit through the Italian veteran in her Fed Cup debut.
Clinching the tie, 6-2, 6-4, Slovakia moved onto the World Group I Play-Offs, while Italy faces a must-win tie to prevent descending into the Euro-Africa Zone for the first time since 1997.
SLOVAKIA WINS!!! @RebeccaSramkova defeats #Schiavone 62 64 to send ?? into April's #FedCup World Group play-offs! pic.twitter.com/FWfKN9PI1Z
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
Belgium 3-1 Romania
Belgium pulled off an dramatic win over Romania, with Elise Mertens taking a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 win over Irina-Camelia Begu.
Mertens started the year debuting in the Top 100 with a title run at the Hobart International, and held her nerve to see off Begu and clinch the tie for Belgium.
Romania roared into World Group back in 2015 with the help of former World No.2 Simona Halep, but with Halep nursing an injured knee, the 2014 French Open finalist could only watch from the sidelines as her team falls to within one match of returning to Euro-Africa Zone I.
Great team = great victory. Congrats @yaninawickmaye8, @FlipperKF, @zanevskamaryna & @elise_mertens! #FedCup #ROUBEL pic.twitter.com/Gsff53iu6b
— BelgianFedCupTeam (@FedCupBelgium) February 12, 2017
Serena Williams’s mom Oracene Price says her daughter is the happiest she’s ever been – with silverware in her hands and a ring on her finger.
BRISBANE, Australia – It was Saturday, January 10, 2009 when a future World No.1 would make her first mark on the WTA tour, as a then-19-year-old Victoria Azarenka took home her very first WTA title at the Brisbane International.
The talented teenager had been knocking on the door for a while; she’d already featured in four finals, including at the previous year’s Gold Coast women’s event, which would merge with the Adelaide men’s tournament to form the Brisbane International.
Azarenka, then ranked World No.16 and seeded two at the tournament, would not be denied a fifth time and routed Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-1 in the final.
“Everybody says the third time’s the charm but for me it is the fifth one – I’m just glad I got it,” the Belarusian laughed in her post-championship press conference.
“I just go out and play no matter what happens. That probably helped me. It was like playing a regular match – that is what helped me finish it so quickly.”
Azarenka would go on to write her name in the tennis history books and record even more significant milestones on Australian soil; she eventually took home her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2012 and rose to WTA World No.1 for the first time.
But, back in 2009 at Brisbane, Azarenka was just getting started.
So young and happy! Same passion still ? https://t.co/U0iJrD8REt
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) January 10, 2017
Check out more photos of Azarenka’s maiden moment of victory, courtesy of Getty Images:
Watch all the best shots from this week at the Qatar Total Open – right here on wtatennis.com!
Olympic champion Monica Puig advanced to the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after defeating Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
“My serving was pretty good today so I think I just believed that I could serve it out and be as positive as I could,” said Puig. “She played a great match, she put me under pressure a lot and I’m just happy to get through.”
Following a confidence-building run to the semifinals of the Qatar Total Open, Puig continued her rich vein of form by taking the opening set 6-3 but squandered a handful of break points against the Kazakh’s serve before being broken twice to lose a tight second set 6-4.
.@MonicaAce93 downs Shvedova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4!
Plays @CaroGarcia next in @DDFTennis Second round! pic.twitter.com/xHzY75zLu1
— WTA (@WTA) February 20, 2017
Puig took an injury timeout before the start of the decider and it seemed to have the desired effect as the Puerto Rican gained the decisive opening break in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead before serving out for the win.
“There was just some soreness,” Puig said after appearing to be in back pain. “I came from the semis in Doha so obviously I need to get my body as recovered as possible but I’m feeling good after this win.”
Victory for Puig marks her best run in Dubai in only her second appearance and she next faces France’s Caroline Garcia, who beat Johanna Larsson on Sunday.
“I know she (Garcia) is a very feisty player. She plays really well and she’s had a great couple of years so I have to go out there and play my best game and whatever happens, happens but I’m just happy with what I’m doing.”
For Shvedova, her challenging start to the season continues. She made 44 unforced errors and 11 double faults and is yet to win a match in 2017.
DUBAI, UAE –
Garbiñe Muguruza has taken quite a climb in the last 12 months, winning her maiden major title at the French Open. The Spaniard climbed even higher before kicking off her campaign at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, scaling the world’s tallest building at the Burj Khalifa.“I’m very excited to see what’s upstairs!” said the No.5 seed before beginning her journey up into the heavens.
Muguruza enjoyed a leisurely ride up the world’s fastest elevator to take in the view from the observation deck on the 148th floor.
“I’ve been told when you’re up this high, you can see the earth starting to curve,” she mused.
Muguruza plays her opening round match on Tuesday against Kateryna Bondarenko; check out the rest of her trip to the Burj Khalifa right here on wtatennis.com!
ROME, Italy – Serena Williams left little doubt about her clay court form after easing into the third round with a straightforward win over Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-4, 6-3 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Rome right here on wtatennis.com!
“I feel pretty good,” Williams said in her press conference before the match. “I wasn’t feeling really good for the past several weeks and even the past few days. But right now I’m better.
“I will see how I’m doing when I step on the court for the first time, but overall I think I’m feeling a lot better.”
She hadn’t played a tennis match in a month and a half – since her round of 16 appearance in Miami and subsequent withdrawal from the Mutua Madrid Open – but the three-time Rome champion was too much for Friedsam to handle.
The 22-year-old Friedsam – who reached a career-high ranking of No.50 this week – is making big strides in the WTA and finding the confidence to back up her big game. Earlier this year she reached the semifinals of Shenzhen and the final of the 125K event in San Antonio, and last year at the French Open she stretched Williams to three sets in their only previous encounter – the World No.1 had to battle back from a set down to advance on her way to the title.
Things were more straightforward in Rome, the first match of Williams’ 2016 clay campaign. She broke once to snag an early lead at 2-1 in the first set, then three times in the second set to put the match away after an hour and fifteen minutes. She struck 27 winners and 18 unforced errors to Friedsam’s 16 and 21.
“I was really happy with my level,” Williams said after the match. “I think I was really consistent. I think I was mentally consistent. I started out fast. Those are some of the things I wanted to work on [and] I was really happy about that.”
In the day’s other second-round match, last year’s finalist Carla Suárez Navarro survived a tricky second set to advance past Teliana Pereira 6-1, 7-5.
“I played a really good match, but the second set I tried to close the match but it was really tough,” Suárez Navarro said. “She came back really good and I was really, really nervous.
“You have to know how to finish that kind of match, so I’m happy because it was tough for me.”
After a rollercoaster week in Doha, World No.3 Karolina Pliskova took home the title, posting back to back wins over Dominika Cibulkova and Caroline Wozniacki along the way. Her efforts vault her into the No.2 spot on the Road To Singapore leaderboard, leapfrogging past Australian Open finalist Venus Williams.
She’s now the first player to win two WTA titles in 2017, and she’s also 15 of the 16 matches she’s played this year (including Fed Cup).
“I don’t feel like I lost just once! I feel like I lost more times but it didn’t happen and I got two trophies. Yeah, it’s an amazing start [to the season],” Pliskova told WTA Insider after her win in Doha.
“It’s always tough after the off-season to get in a good shape at the tournaments and get back on track. I think it’s the best that I’ve ever had and the longest streak of winning matches that I had.”
Another major RTS move this week belongs to reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion Dominika Cibulkova, who reached the semifinals in Doha to storm into the Top 8.
Here are the biggest moves on the Road To Singapore this week:
Karolina Pliskova +2 (No.4 to No.2)
Venus Williams -1 (No.2 to No.3)
Johanna Konta -1 (No.3 to No.4)
Dominika Cibulkova +6 (No.14 to No.8)
Elina Svitolina -1 (No.8 to No.9)
Caroline Wozniacki +20 (No.29 to No.9)
Click here to check out the full Road to Singapore leaderboard, updated as of February 20th.
